I was skimming the timeline of my Twitter feed when it hit me. I realized that I was skimming posts that are only 140 characters in length, the shortest form of Internet communication. I have become so accustomed to the bombardment of information on the Internet that I can't even stop to read a full tweet. The Internet has become a place for visual grazing.

Immediately I thought of: “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4). Knowledge is definitely increasing. I can know what is going on in the entire world. It is easy to know what my friends are doing and where they are. I can know who just scored a touchdown, what hockey player just got a hat trick, what’s going on with the market or what’s on TV tonight. I can do it all with my smart phone or anywhere there is a wifi hotspot. God didn’t tell Daniel that the knowledge would necessarily be of substance. He said, “Many shall run to and fro.” Busyness. I then realized that I am always connected. Perhaps most of my communication and gain of knowledge comes electronically. Are you in the same boat?

After I was done skimming I started to do something that I hadn’t done in a long time. I meditated. I meditated on how I spend my time. I meditated on what kind of priorities I had in my life. I meditated on what I fill my mind with. When I was going through my Twitter feed, I wasn’t searching for anything important. I wasn’t coming across something of value. I was just browsing. Gaining little and wasting much.

In the book of Hebrews it says: By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward (Hebrews 11:24-26).

“The passing pleasures of sin...” Moses was raised in the palace of the Pharoah. He had whatever he wanted. In the western world, we too, have so much abundance that most of us are never lacking. If we want something, we buy it. If we want to be entertained, we are entertained. Whatever our heart desires is at our disposal. Moses saw what was important, and it was more important to give up the luxury of the palace to be with the people of God and follow His way of life.

I know that there is nothing inherently wrong with going through my Twitter feed. I am just a little more careful with my time. I am still learning what is important and what is just a passing pleasure. I make sure that I spend part of my day studying God’s Word and talking with Him in prayer. Balance. That is what I am trying to attain. Each day I am getting a little closer and it becomes easier to see that reward that compelled Moses to leave Pharoah’s palace.